Self Management and Recovery Training (SMART)

SMART Recovery USA helps people find their life beyond addiction

Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities with our self-empowering, science-informed approach for problematic addictive behaviors. 

SMART Recovery USA – a 501(c)3 organization – is a fresh approach to addiction recovery. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. This is more than an acronym: it is a transformative method of moving from addictive substances and negative behaviors to a life of positive self-regard and willingness to change.

Far too many people feel powerless over their lives and carry a sense of futility, a dread of staying trapped within an addiction pattern and locked into their circumstances. SMART helps them learn the skills they need to overcome their addictions and transform their lives.

SMART was created for people seeking a self-empowering way to overcome addictive problems. What has emerged is an accessible method of recovery, one grounded in science and proven by more than a quarter-century of experience teaching practical tools that encourage lasting change.

SMART is a powerful recovery community that includes passionate volunteers who recovered with SMART who are driven to help others. Peers and professionals working together fuse science and experience to help people build healthy and balanced lives.

In our mutual support meetings, offered online and in-person, participants design and implement their own recovery plan to create a more balanced, purposeful, fulfilling, and meaningful life. SMART provides specialized meetings and resources for a variety of communities, including Family & Friends, veterans, and more.

SMART Recovery works. Whether an individual has chosen recovery as their path or been mandated to attend a recovery program, SMART provides a path to Life Beyond Addiction.

Organizational Values

SMART’s Organizational Values are the foundation of all our principles and positions.

Empowerment: We are committed to the power of choice, offering stigma-free tools and communities for individuals to use as they make progress on their own goals to build a life beyond addiction.

Equity: We see the value in every human being and are dedicated to identifying and transcending barriers to participation in SMART Recovery.

Inclusion: We accept and appreciate our different ways of being and support one another with respect, encouragement, and compassion.

Integrity: We are committed to being transparent and honest in our decision-making, aligning our actions with our words.

Accountability: We strive to have a meaningful positive impact in the world. We set goals, encourage innovation, measure progress, and follow through on our commitments.

Principles and Positions

Recovery Through Self-Empowerment

Our mission is to help participants gain independence from any problematic addictive behavior. We believe that individuals seeking change should be fully informed about the range of options available and free to choose among them. We encourage participants to take responsibility for their own change. Our meetings support their capacity to regulate their own behavior.

Mutual Help: As participants progress, their focus can shift to enjoying the activities of a healthy, fulfilling, and productive life, including the satisfaction of assisting new participants in SMART Recovery.

Volunteer Management: SMART Recovery is operated almost entirely by volunteers, including the Board of Directors and meeting facilitators. Facilitators may have had addictive problems, or individuals without addictive problems who learned to lead SMART meetings as a service to their communities.

Acceptance: SMART Recovery participants are welcome to discuss addictive behavior with any substance or activity. SMART Recovery encourages participation by persons of any race, color, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We do not tolerate harassment of any kind in our meetings.

Participant Support: Our meetings and online services are offered free of charge. Donations are requested. We are funded primarily through training fees, literature sales, and personal contributions. We accept funding from other sources provided that receiving such funds does not interfere with our purpose and mission.

Evidence-Based Practice: SMART Recovery uses evidence-based methods, including cognitive-behavioral, non-confrontational motivational enhancement, and other methods. Our meetings focus on the application of these methods, as guided by our 4-Point Program®:

1. Building and Maintaining Motivation,

2. Coping with Urges,

3. Managing Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors; and

4. Living a Balanced Life.

The methods used in SMART Recovery evolve as scientific knowledge evolves.

Collaboration: Some participants may choose to augment their SMART Recovery experience with professional therapy, medications, or other mutual help groups. Treatment professionals may volunteer to facilitate meetings in their community or at their facility. When doing so, they switch from “therapist” to “facilitator.” Professionals are encouraged to incorporate SMART Recovery principles and tools into their work.

International Presence: SMART Recovery is an international organization. We support local volunteers so that our meetings can be available in every country. We support national health services and professionals so that SMART Recovery International oversees our global operations.

Position Statements

SMART Recovery vs. 12-Step Programs

At SMART, we believe that each individual finds her or his own path for change. For some, that path may include 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA). While the SMART approach differs in some ways from AA and NA, it does not exclude them. Some SMART participants also choose to attend AA or NA meetings.

Use of Medications to Treat Addictions and Mental Health

SMART Recovery supports the scientifically informed use of psychological treatment and legally prescribed psychiatric and addiction medication.

Religion and Spirituality

We believe that the power to change addictive behaviors resides within each individual and does not depend upon adherence to any spiritual viewpoint. The use of religious or spiritual beliefs and practices in recovery is a personal choice and not a part of our program.

Addiction as a Disease

SMART Recovery tools can help you regardless of whether or not you believe addiction is a disease.

Meeting Verifications

SMART Recovery is an independent organization and is not affiliated with any governmental agency, court, corrections facility, or treatment program. Facilitators, at their discretion, will provide attendance verification at the request of individuals following their participation in SMART meetings; however, SMART Recovery keeps no permanent record of participant names or meeting attendance. Consistent with the practices of other addiction mutual help groups, this verification provides acknowledgment of meeting attendance and is not indicative of the depth of engagement in the meeting.